Friday, September 23, 2005

One of the hazards in the line of motherhood, I’ve come to find out, is back injuries. I woke up Wednesday morning with a slight kink in my neck. “No problem” I thought, “it will go away in a few hours”. I left the house in a hurry to meet up with Julie to go for a morning walk. Well, in my hurry I grabbed Evan’s carrier and suddenly felt a *pop* in my neck. THAT HURT!!! I should have just called Julie and told her I wasn’t coming, but me in my “I’m supermom” mindset, went walking anyway. I came home from that walk in so much pain I couldn’t hold my own head up for more than 5 mins! I couldn’t hold Evan for long either. I eventually went to see the doctor the next day, and she confirmed that I had a back spasm and because I’m breastfeeding Evan I couldn’t get any of the muscle relaxant drugs she would have prescribed me. I can take Tylenol but for the most part I’ve had to live with the pain in my neck and back.Mark’s taken off work to stay home and help take care of Evan and all the little things I can’t do now that you’d take for granted, like turning your head!

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Wow I've been blogging for a year now... interesting how my blog has morphed since then. So, if this blog is supposed to be a reflection of me, then its safe to say that I have changed in the past year as well. Yeah, having a baby has a bit to do with it too.

Its been a while since I personally blogged. I got lazy and posted pics instead.So, a quick recap since my last installment...

* We took a trip back home to Seatown for my brother-in-law's wedding. Evan held up VERY well on the plane. I was worried that he'd be fussy the whole time, so Mark appologized in advance to our neighbors. But I guess because of the engine noise, Evan slept for the entire 5.5 hour flight! He'd never slept that much before. I had to fly back to DC alone with Evan and he did the same thing too. Not only is he so dang cute, but so great on long trips!

* While we were in Seattle my dad's Merril Lynch office had a BBQ and we tagged along. The food was pretty good, but the best part was the cart full of all the ice cream and popsicles you can eat! Plus, there was a guest appearance by the Mariner Moose. They also set up a blow up pitching cage that gaged your mphs. I think I hurt my shoulder from that. All in all it was pretty good afternoon at the Red Hook Brewery.

* Mark and I celebrated our 2nd year anniversary by booking a trip on the Spirit of Washington dinner train. Our anniversary was really May 24th but better late than never! It takes you from Renton, along Lake Washington, to the wineries of Woodinville, and back. Dinner and entertainment was pretty good. We asked our friends Geordy and Amy to come along, which I'm glad we did, because they seat everyone 4 to a table. So, we could have been stuck sitting across from a couple we didn't know having to make small talk. The train moves faster on the way back so we found ourselves having to struggle a bit to enjoy our dessert. We also noticed that the volume of the people on the way back was a lot louder. Amy made the oberservation that it was probably the result of the wine tasting table from our stop at the Columbia Winery.We had a great time, and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting Seattle!

* It blows my mind how responsive Evan is getting day by day. He can look you in the face now and turns to watch me as I walk around the room. He smiles and 'talks' back when you talk to him! He's got more different types of cries now. And is actually entertained by the toys that hang over him on his play mat. ok so it doesn't sound that amazing, but it is to me! I've watched him since he was just a little bundle that just slept and woke up to cry and eat and poop. It makes those long sleepless nights worth it!

* It doesn't matter that I'm Evan's mom and I'm not being bias when I say that he is one of the cutest baby around! Granted all babies are cute, but there are some that are just beautiful. Perhaps I'll get Evan an agent and get him an early start to his career as a male model. I can tell you that the pics you see here online are only .001% of the total pics I've taken of him. I thought my parents took a lot of pics of me when I was little, but with the help of digital technology I've dwarfed that collection easily!

* Mark had a conference for work in Charlottesville, VA (about 2 hours South from where we live) and Evan and I tagged along. And why not? The hotel was paid for, free buffet breakfast every morning, pool & hot tub, and extended cable TV (we downgraded to basic cable at home to save $)(I love HGTV, TLC, & Discovery). Plus throw in a Mitsubishi Galant V6 3.8 liter for a rental car, also paid for, and I'm sold! I didn't care for it's aesthetics as much as what what under it's hood. That car was a blast to drive around in! There weren't enough straight-a-ways in Charlottesville to satisfy my need for speed. A big plus was that the gas was paid for too!So while Mark was at the conference, enjoying death-by-powerpoint, Evan and I cruised around town and went shopping! Another perk of working for the gov't is per diem, they give you an allowance for food everyday. If you don't use it up, you keep it! However, if you've read Mark's previous entry, our per diem is going towards the missuse of the Galant's V6 3.8 liter engine. oh well.

* Last bit of news... We have a new addition in our parking lot. Welcome 2002 Honda Accord VP. I never thought I'd own an Accord. Its such an Asian thing to drive. And cliche for a family car. yada yada yada. I'll get over it. We got a very good deal on it; buying it from someone selling it at Mark's work. Its a good car and its nice that I have transportation of my own now. Mark's going to drive Accord, while I take Camry. Only because the Camry's got power windows and locks, the one thing lacking in the Accord. It feels like a throw back to the stone age; I'm so spoiled.

Friday, September 16, 2005

I think the Virginia State Police are on to me, and have been tracking our blog. Me and my big mouth. Well, the time has finally come for me to get a speeding ticket. After ignoring the warnings of all the conference attendees and coordinators, saying US 29 near UVa/Charlottesville is swarmed with cops (since on the way down we didn't see any, I guess it was because it was Sunday evening!), I was pulled over by an unmarked Intrepid going 73 in a 60. Which is pretty good, because I was (of course) going faster than that. So ten years with a "clean" record (I had traffic school twice in Utah, which more or less erases the record that I ever got a ticket, but the cost is equivalent to a ticket), and was slapped with a $121 ticket. $5 per mph over the limit, plus a $51 processing fee (!!! worse than Ticketmaster!!!) and a $5 random fee. So that's $121 / 10 years, means I got the equivalent of $12/year for speeding. That's not too bad! Especially with all the warnings I've received, I really can't complain :)

Thursday, September 08, 2005

I know, I know, I can't seem to stick with just one. This one seemed more appropriate for our lifestyle, though. Plus, we noticed with the last blog template that we couldn't see who was commenting!! So, here it is, another makeover...enjoy :)

Well, went to work super early Wednesday morning, and then came home and took a 4-hour nap, so now I'm, well, sort of wide awake. More awake because Evan seems to sleep for 10 minutes, and then wake up and cry. Bev says I'm "acting like I don't have to work tomorrow." I think I'll be feeling it soon if I don't! Anyway, how do you like our new look?

At last, the Camry is legal to drive in the state of Virginia! I even put to rest the old license plates to symbolize the passing of the baton from illegal to legal...now the plates are the 9-11 "Fight Terrorism" ones.

But the drama is not complete...I guess when the Midas guys worked on my brakes, when they were putting the wheel covers back they broke one of the connectors, so now it's only a matter of time before the driver's side cover pops off and we have to get new ones!!! Oh well, I've been wanting to get new ones for some time now anyway.